EEW Energy from Waste has been tapped to build and operate an incinerator in the Polish city of Gdańsk. In an EU-wide call for tenders issued by the municipal waste management company ZUT (Zaklad Utylizacyjny Spólka z o.o), the EEW project company Itpok Gdansk won out against the only remaining bidder, a consortium consisting of the Italian construction concern Astaldi and the French waste to energy (wte) company Tiru. For its part Itpok Gdansk is an 85 per cent subsidiary of EEW Energy from Waste Polska. The remaining 15 per cent stake in the company belongs to the investment company LHI.
EEW has offered to design and build the wte plant for around €100m. The annual revenue for the operation of the plant would run to around €7m.
However, the other bidders still have the opportunity to contest the contract award, explained ZUT. As it was unclear which, if any, of the other potential contractors might seek to appeal the decision, it was difficult to say when contract closure was likely to take place. Barring an appeal, EEW considers it likely the contract will be signed before the end of the year.
"For us, the contract award means our entry into the Polish market. For our Polish partners, it means they can count on professional project management and superior service," explained Bernard M. Kemper, CEO of EEW.
The wte plant in Gdańsk has been planned with a processing capacity of 160,000 tonnes of waste with a calorific value of 11 MJ/kg per year. Following the completion of the plant, EEW Polska would operate the single-line grate-fired plant for 25 years under the contract with the ZUT.
The city of Gdańsk is still hoping to be able to secure EU financial support which could cover up to 68 per cent of the investment costs for the project. The decision on the European funds is expected in the next few months, enabling the city to draw from the funds as early as next year. The construction of the wte plant is planned for 2019 and 2020.
